I didn’t so much ditch the last half of school today.. As much as I
fled.
Fridays are my favorite day of the week. Not only because of the
obvious. All of my classes are within the first four periods of the day.
Which means I’m done by 9:40am. Three solid hours of work and class
time, and my obligation has ended for the week. I’m free to beg off and bolt.
Today, instead of heading home, I made for the government(ish) office
in my little village in the middle of the bush. They have wi-fi. Mostly, it works..
Here’s the thing about our little arrangement on my borrowing their
broadband..
I refuse to sit in the office.
They offer, nicely, every time I stop by..
This is the government(ish) office where the four other persons who
could be referred to as pale in my village are frequently found (well, at least
three of them). They manage the cattle ranch which employs the vast majority of
the population in this odd little cattle region..
Except for the clinic nurse, myself, and the other teaching staff at
school (and most of the 386 learners); everyone in my village is employed by the ranch.
It might not make sense, but something just feels wrong treating those
offices as if they were my own personal space, to come and go as I pleased...
Even when I’m given leave to do so...
Anyway, I’m off early.
And since the internet – the real internet, not the achingly slow
connection provided by my 2G USB adapter – is a rare treat, I had things to
download, update, and install. Pressing things. The constantly warn you the
digital apocalypse is about occur if you don’t update your operating system
alerts, because you’re still working a few versions or plug-ins back.
And did I do any of that before my computer died?
Nope.
Like an impressionable child distracted by a shiny object within their field of vision, I was
distracted by skype. How funny to have a video chat on the lawn as people are streaming around
you. An unexpected treat for this Friday.
Sixty some days till Malawi?
Sixty days…
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| Lake Nyasa, Nhkata Bay, Malawi |